37 Coincidence or Fate

Yan Qiu Yue stared down at her paper with a difficult look on her face.

"Ah, I can't believe Qiu Yue was chosen..." Yan Qiu Heng groaned, but couldn't help but smile. Poetry was most definitely not his sister's strong suit.

"Be quiet, I need to concentrate!" Yan Qiu Yue snapped at her twin.

"Yes, Big Sis needs to concentrate!" Feng Ming Xia was quick to back Yan Qiu Yue up. "How can she write anything with you hovering like that?"

Yan Qiu Heng only laughed, but he indeed stopped talking. He was eager to see what kind of cliche poem his sister could come up with. The only stipulation was that the poem had to be related to the new year. It could be about the banquet or about the passing of the previous year... No doubt there would be a variety of topics.

Further up the banquet hall, Wei Hong Sheng had been chosen for Prince Rui's household and was currently brainstorming ideas. The fourth prince was sitting next to him and laughing his head off, as he was exempted from writing a couplet and safe. The young fifth prince, Wei De Ming, had been chosen among the princes. Naturally, that was no concern of all of the fourth prince's. "It's been a year of ups and downs for you, hasn't it?" he teased his cousin. "Pain often fuels exquisite art." Wei Hong Sheng smirked but did not reply.

Finding him rather uninteresting at present, the fourth prince naturally sought out other entertainment. His eyes landed upon Yi Cheng Rui and Wei Tian Ao sitting further away and remembered their earlier conversation. That Wei Tian Ao was surely not simple, the fourth prince thought.

The fourth prince leaned over, resting his chin in the palm of his hand. He looked every bit the lazy cat he was rumored to be. "Come to think of it, cousin, we haven't been formally introduced," he called out to Wei Tian Ao. His policy was not to hold grudges. Clouds of sorrow would always pass, leaving nothing in the skies.

Yi Cheng Rui raised an eyebrow before glancing at his friend, wondering how he would respond to this royal pain. Wei Tian Ao did not look up, but replied, "Fourth Prince's reputation precedes you. No introduction is necessary." These words were somewhat rude.

"Please, 'Fourth Prince' sounds so distant. Why not call me Xie Liang? After all, we are family." The Fourth Prince's full name was Wei Xie Liang. Wei Tian Ao found this rather amusing. From what he knew, the "liang" in the fourth prince's name was the character for "fine learning" but just what part of this frivolous man exuded "fine learning"?

Wei Tian Ao looked up, smiling faintly before cupping his hands one on top of the other in a salute. "Etiquette cannot be disregarded, royal cousin."

Wei Xie Liang waved his free hand dismissively. "You're no fun at all." When he looked back over at Wei Hong Sheng, the latter had already finished his couplet. "Finished already?"

Wei Hong Sheng laughed. "It's only two lines. Don't tell me you expected me to take half the day to write it?"

"I'm not sure I could write something acceptable even in half a day."

"For things like this, it's better to be decisive." Wei Hong Sheng maintained a serene expression as he looked over at Wei Tian Ao. "More time spent does not always lead to a better result, do not you agree, brother?"

Wei Tian Ao hesitated a moment. These words were just too deep! Swallowing the saliva that he hadn't realized filled his mouth, he replied respectfully, "Quick decisions do not always lead to better results, either. It's best to understand everything before making a choice."

"Hey, are we still talking about poetry?" Wei Xie Liang teased.

Wei Hong Sheng smiled but did not respond. Seemingly without a care, he handed over his paper to one of the eunuchs standing at the side.

A little while later, Yan Qiu Yue also finished hers after much deliberation. It was nearing the end of the time limit the emperor had given for them to compose their poetry, so she really couldn't dally any longer. The poems were all put on display around the banquet hall and the guests were given time to stroll around, reading the couplets one at a time. The best couplets would be cause for rewards to be bestowed upon their composers.

Everyone was rather merry as they walked around the banquet hall. Some of the poems were rather poignant and prettily written. Still more were hardly fit to be shown in public. It was these that Yan Qiu Yue related to the most. Though she appreciated poetry and literature, appreciating them did not mean that she was capable of composing her own.

"Oh, Big Sis! This one was written by Wei Hong Sheng! It's very well-done." Feng Ming Xia excitedly chirped. She and Yan Qiu Yue were walking together arm in arm. "But... Hmm... It sounds a little... familiar?"

Yan Qiu Yue turned her head upon hearing this, slowing her pace to stop in front of Wei Hong Sheng's poem:

"The wild goose flies south in search of heat.

New year's bells chime, but two geese do not meet."

Poetry is tricky because a lot of meaning is derived from the words left unstated. Even though each couplet contains only two lines, there's more underneath. Just from the words "search" and "two geese do not meet", one's mind can conjure up images of a lonely goose flying through the sky in search of its loved one. "Bells chime" to signal the end of the year, but louder still is the sound of the mournful goose's call which is left unspoken in the poem, but is evoked by the heart. Even after migrating, after the passing of a whole year, the goose would not find its mate. It was part of a noble child's education to recognize these hidden symbols in poetry and Yan Qiu Yue was no exception. Reading this poem, for some reason her heart moved.

Across the way, Wei Hong Sheng was smiling as he read her couplet:

"The geese fly south, their hearts so bold.

I remain here, ushering in a new year, still feeling cold."

This could not be called a good poem, but somehow it tickled his fancy all the same. The calligraphy of the poet was sharp and decisive, somewhat uncharacteristic of a woman. "What 'geese's hearts so bold'? Clearly you are the bold one, writing such a thing," he chuckled quietly to himself.

Standing further away, in the middle but several paces away from both Wei Hong Sheng and Yan Qiu Yue, Wei Tian Ao's heart was like the churning sea during a storm. Each rising and falling wave of his heart caused him acute pain. By coincidence, the two had been chosen to compose couplets. By coincidence, the two had both written about geese flying south. Once too many coincidences piled up, it became another word: fate.

Yi Cheng Rui had a complicated look on his face as he watched his friend. "Don't dwell too much on it." he finally said, though he himself knew how unhelpful such words were.

"Am I... Am I the villain? I feel as if I am breaking up a pair that was meant to be together," Wei Tian Ao sighed.

"If they were meant to be together, they would be together," Yi Cheng Rui quipped. "Besides, Yan Qiu Yue knows Wei Hong Sheng about as well as she knows you. It's not as if either of them were the ones to decide on their prior engagement. What's the difference between marrying you or marrying him?" he shook his head. "Actually, it is far better to marry you. You're the shizi!"

Wei Tian Ao smiled, though his lips were a little lopsided. Yi Cheng Rui rarely ever babbled on like this. The desperation in his voice was rather funny. "Thank you. It is I who am thinking too much." If Yan Qiu Yue didn't know him as well as Wei Hong Sheng, that was a problem that could be fixed. After all, no matter what, they were to be married soon. Instead of dwelling on whether or not she had feelings for his brother, he should--

"Prince Rui-shizi, might I have a word?"